FALLS CHURCH, Va. — The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors—National Association announced May 28 a PHCC CEO transition in which Chief Executive Officer Cindy Sheridan will retire at the end of 2026, with the association's board unanimously selecting Chief Operating Officer Dan Quinonez as her successor.
Quinonez, who also serves as executive director of the PHCC Educational Foundation, will assume the CEO position Nov. 1, with Sheridan remaining in an advisory role through the transition. The board made the selection during a May 7 meeting, according to the association.
Sheridan's PHCC CEO Tenure
Sheridan became PHCC's first female CEO in January 2023, after joining the association in 2000 to oversee membership and chapter relations. She previously served as chief operating officer of the PHCC Educational Foundation, where she led the Get the Lead Out Plumbing Consortium campaign on lead-free plumbing practices, which the association said reached roughly 4,000 industry professionals. She also launched the PHCC Academy, an online apprenticeship training platform that has grown into one of the association's primary workforce-development resources.
PHCC President Jason Pritchard credited Sheridan with strengthening the organization's industry profile, advancing workforce-development initiatives and streamlining internal operations during her tenure as CEO, calling the succession plan a step intended to ensure continuity for the organization. PHCC's combined plumbing and HVACR membership distinguishes it from single-trade associations, requiring its leadership to balance advocacy and training priorities across two licensed trades that often compete for the same multi-trade contractor's attention and dues dollars — a balancing act Sheridan navigated for more than three years as CEO after a quarter-century in other roles at the association.
Quinonez's Background
Before joining PHCC, Quinonez served as executive director of both the Roof Coatings Manufacturers Association and the Professional Electrical Apparatus Reconditioning League, accumulating more than two decades of experience as an association leader and spokesperson across the food manufacturing, roofing and skilled-trades industries. He has served simultaneously as PHCC's chief operating officer since November 2024 and as executive director of the PHCC Educational Foundation.
During his tenure leading the Educational Foundation, Quinonez oversaw what the association described as a record year for scholarship awards, expanded partnerships with the SkillsUSA Championship and WorldSkills competition, and a redesign of the National HVAC Apprentice Contest. PHCC also credited him with growing the Foundation's endowment by $3 million and generating more than $2 million in PHCC Academy sales over the past three years.
Organizational Context
PHCC, founded in 1883, represents roughly 3,500 plumbing and HVACR contracting businesses and approximately 65,000 technicians through its national and state chapter network, according to the association. The organization provides legislative advocacy, technical training and business resources for member contractors across both trades.
The leadership transition follows a separate succession announcement earlier this year at ACCA, the HVAC contractor trade association, where Barton James departed as CEO and Martin Hoover stepped in to lead the organization through a national search — though the two transitions are unrelated and reflect separate internal processes at each association.
What the PHCC CEO Transition Means Next
Quinonez will officially take over PHCC's top staff position Nov. 1, with Sheridan continuing to support the transition in an advisory capacity for the remainder of the year. PHCC has not indicated any near-term changes to its policy priorities, training programs or membership structure as part of the leadership change, and the association's existing initiatives — including the PHCC Academy and its workforce-development programming — are expected to continue under Quinonez's direction.
The association has also not detailed how its government affairs work, technical training calendar or its involvement in joint industry initiatives, such as the PHCC-ASA Joint Legislative Conference it holds with the American Supply Association, will be affected by the transition, nor has it named an interim or permanent successor to the chief operating officer or Educational Foundation executive director roles Quinonez currently holds. The announcement gives PHCC's member companies and their technicians several months of advance notice before the change takes effect.
PHCC's state and local chapters, which operate semi-independently under the national association's umbrella, have not issued separate statements on the leadership change as of late June. The national office said it will provide updates to chapter leadership and members through its regular communications channels as the transition timeline progresses toward Quinonez's Nov. 1 start date.
